Subprime mortgage mess just a symptom of what ails us

Ten days ago, Mayor Frank Jackson of Cleveland sued twenty one major investment banks that he says enabled the subprime lending crisis. Some of the banks being sued are Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo.

With teaser rates and suspect lending practices, the banks involved in the subprime lending debacle, loaned money to people who couldn't afford to pay it back. They sold their debt which was re-sold, etc... Then when housing prices fell, the pyramid scheme collapsed. The Federal Reserve Bank's response to the crisis was to pump billions into the economy and cut interest rates(doesn't that cause inflation?). They also suggested that the banks verify income

Subprime lending, stock market speculation, loosely regulated hedge funds and stories like Enron are part of the "I want to get rich without working for it" mentality so pervasive in our country. The great French writer Honre de Balzac, in his Splendors and Sorrows of Courtesans said: "All rapidly accumulated wealth is either the result of luck or discovery, or the result of legalized theft."

The Cleveland Mayor cited above said: "To me, this is no different than organized crime or drugs."

Our entire economy is debt based. The Federal Government is in debt $10 trillion. New Jersey is in debt billions and billions and many Americans are "maxed out" on credit cards. Rather than addressing the problem of a debt based economy, our leaders try to find more ways of continuing the spending that runs the economy. When our leaders, after September 11th, tell us to "go shopping", that says alot.

To stave off recession (they don't even like saying the word), President Bush is proposing an $800 tax rebate to stimulate the economy. Sounds like a band-aid to me. Giving $800 to millions of us to spend is a solution?

We have been told for years that inflation is under control. Really? Have these "experts" purchased gasoline or gone to the grocery store lately? Or the movies? It costs a family of four about $80.00 to go to a movie ($40 without popcorn and soda).

Ron Paul is the only Presidential candidate talking about the inflationary practices of the Federal Reserve and he gets laughed at.

I wonder how many of us will be laughing all the way to the bank when the bill comes due for all this borrowing/spending.